Improved process of preserving dead bodies



UNITED STATES ATENT FFIGE.

CHARLES A. SEELY AND CHARLES J. EAMES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED PROCESS OF PRESERVING- DEAD BODIES.

Specificatioafomm'ng part of Letters Patent No. 7 4,607 dated February18, 1868.

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that we, CHARLES A. SEELY andCHARLES J. EAMES, of New York, in the county of New York, in the Stateof New York, have invented a new and Improved Process for PreservingDead Bodies and we do hereby declare that the following is a full andexact description thereof.

The nature of our invention consists in the impregnation of the deadbody with carbolic acid or other equivalent antiseptic liquid.

We apply the antiseptic liquid to the surface of the body, and also,when deemed advisable, we inject it into the stomach and intestinalcanal. For the external application, we take a solution of the acid inwater or other convenient solvent, and wash the body with it by means ofa sponge or cloth, and when the first washing has been finished, we

.repeat it one or more times, or, when convenient, we immerse the bodyin a weak solution of the acid for a short time; or we saturate clothswith a solution of the acid, and then wrap or wind the body in thecloths so saturated, and allow the cloths thus to remain on the body.The body thus brought in contact with the liquid absorbs it by degrees,and the decomposition of the body is arrested or prevented.

Ve have found that in many cases, and especially in cold weather, theexternal application of the antiseptic is sufficient to prevent changewithin a few days; but when it is desirable to keep the body for a longtimeiwe inject a small quantity of the antiseptic into the cavities ofthe chest and the abdomen. We make the injection by the use of asyringe, and at the natural external openings to the cavities. Theamount of liquid to be injected should be at least a few ounces, and wefind no objection to the use of such a quantity as will distend thecavities. In addition to the applications of the antiseptic, as abovedescribed, we sometimes find it useful to place cotton, wool, lint, orcloth saturated with the acid in the nostrils and in the ears.

Our process, when. carried out as above described, is entirely efficientfor the preservation of a body during the ordinary interval betweendeath and burial. But when the process is used as an embalming process,or when there are no objections to making incisions into the body, weprefer to inject the acid into the arteries and veins; or, in additionto the ordinary external and internal application of the acid, we injectsome of the acid through an opening of the skull into the substance ofthe brain. 1 1

For a further security against decomposition of the body, and especiallywhen the cloths saturated with liquid are not kept permanently about thebody, we place at the bottom or sides of the coffin sheets of felt orcloth, or similar fibrous material, which has been saturated or dampenedwith the antiseptic liquid. i

In combination with carbolic acid, we have used bisnlphite of lime andbisuiphite of soda, and a solution of snlphurous or acetic acid, withadvantage; but we are satisfied that carbolic acid is the most activeand useful agent for our purpose, and that any addi tion to it is notessential to success.

\Ve have found the use of a mixture of carbolic acid with sawdust orother inert granular matter often advisable in the bottom of the coffin,and this modification of our process we desire to include in our claimfor Letters Patout.

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The process for preserving dead bodies,

I substantially as described.

2. The use of carbolic acid, and combinations of carbolic acid withother substances, for the preservationand embalming of dead bodies.

CHARLES A. SEELY. CHARLES J. EAMES.

Witnesses:

W. R. G. CLARK, J OHN S. RAY.

